Episode 7 Make Me an Egghead

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, do you have the brains to join them?

Hello and welcome to Make Me An Egghead.

We've launched a nationwide search to find the greatest quiz brains in

Britain. By the end of the series,

two people will emerge as champions and win the ultimate prize for

quizzing enthusiasts - a place with the most fearsome quizzers in history.

Yes, the Eggheads!

Look how fearsome they are! So, let's meet today's contestants,

both hoping they've got what it takes to become an Egghead.

Hi, my name's Craig Element, I'm a software developer from Coventry.

Hello, I'm Said Khan and I'm a bullion dealer from Birmingham.

Well, that is quite some combination,

and your name is actually Element?

It is. I know nothing about chemistry,

so hopefully there's no science questions.

So, Craig, tell me about your quizzing pedigree.

TV-wise, I was a grand finalist on Fifteen To One last year and also

a semifinalist on Only Connect.

I've been on a few series over the years,

Perfect Strangers back in the day, 2007,

and a show called Battle Of The Brain.

Yeah, well, we have a lot of quiz programmes mentioned by the Challengers

here, Eggs. Which are the ones that make you think, "Aha, now that really is difficult?"

-Only Connect.

-Only... Really?

-University Challenge.

-Probably the best two.

-It's not so much a quiz, though, Only Connect,

it's a sort of cryptic crossword, really.

It's quite a heavy marker of basic intelligence, so you have to be very,

very good at problem-solving and lateral thinking and everything else.

It does prompt at a certain level of intelligence.

OK, so, Said, tell me about your quizzing.

Well, this is my second crack at trying to become an Egghead.

I tried it a few years ago on Are You An Egghead?

I've done Mastermind about 12 years ago and I didn't do too well on that,

but I chose my subject, Dalida,

which, if I was doing it again, I'd know a lot more about her now.

-Dalida, the French singer?

-The French singer, yes. I think I'm her biggest fan in the UK.

Oh, really? OK. Good luck to you both.

Contestants, this is where you need to prove that you could be an Egghead.

Just like on Eggheads, both of you will compete over a series of different rounds where your

knowledge will be tested on the regular Eggheads categories.

So, the first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of History.

I will ask you three multiple-choice questions on History in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the round. So far,

so simple, but the prize for winning a round on Make Me An Egghead is that

you gain an extra brain for the final. Not just any old brain,

one of these very young and brisk brains over here.

Before the show, we tossed a coin.

As a result of that, Said, you have the option

as to whether you would like to play first or second.

I'd like to play first, please, Jeremy.

So, here we go, the contest is underway. Good luck, guys.

Said, popular from the 15th to the 17th century,

what sort of man's clothing was a doublet?

I think it was worn along with hose, which are socks,

so I'd imagine it'd be the trousers.

-Interesting. Eggheads?

-More of a jacket-y type arrangement.

-Jacket.

-Doublet and hose.

Where do we get doublet and hose from, then?

-Well, it must be jacket and trousers as it were.

-Jacket and trousers.

Brilliant, Judith.

-Jacket is the answer.

-Oh.

Craig, during the Civil War,

Charles I moved his court from London to which city?

I'm trying to think of where he moved his banner... Sort of Derby,

in the Midlands somewhere as a kind of like flash point.

Out of those three cities, I will go for Oxford, please.

Oxford is correct.

Back to you, Said. Which type of aircraft launched a torpedo that

critically damaged the steering of the German battleship Bismarck?

I'm going to go for de Havilland Mosquito because

it's the one I've heard of.

Now, Chris will know this.

No, it's the Fairey Swordfish.

Absolutely obsolescent old biplane crate that could just about stagger

into the air. But it was a very effective torpedo bomber

and the torpedo in question actually

jammed her rudder, so she could only steam in circles

and she was done for, basically.

So, it dropped a torpedo into the sea?

Yeah. It used to come in low, let the torpedo go, then

get out of there PDQ and the torpedo would carry on.

There we go, thank you, Chris, fascinating.

Fairey Swordfish is the answer, Said, so yet to score.

Back to you, Craig. Which British noble married

the Infanta of Castile and

attempted to take the Castilian throne by force in 1386?

1386, so it's late 14th century.

I think Warwick the Kingmaker was more 15th century,

possibly Harry Hotspur as well. I mean, it's all Hundred Years War.

I think I'll go for John of Gaunt, please.

John of Gaunt is the right answer, so you've got two points.

Said, you can't catch him up, so that means, Craig,

you've won the first head-to-head.

And you can scan these five Eggheads now and decide whose brain you want

to join you in the final.

I'd like a combination of all of them, really,

because they could all add something to my bow.

If I could select Pat, please.

Pat, how's it feel back there?

I hope I can help Craig.

-Thank you.

-If I can give him an answer.

I'm sensing that Craig's very good on his history.

-Well, he did well there, didn't he?

-Well, the stakes are high here.

As it stands, Craig has one Egghead to help him in the final.

Said has no-one so far, but it's early days.

Next category is Film & TV and, Craig, you can choose

whether you go first or second because you won the last round.

May I go first, please?

And here is your first question.

Which Doctor Who actor played Tristan Farnon

in the TV drama series All Creatures Great And Small?

Is it...

I mean, they're all Doctors,

I think Tom Baker was the, was he the fourth?

Then Peter Davison, the fifth,

Christopher Eccleston obviously in the reboot in 2005.

All Creatures Great And Small is a 80s TV series.

I think Peter Davison was in

All Creatures Great And Small at a similar time as he was a Doctor,

so I'll go for Peter Davison, please.

Peter Davison is right. Well done. Was he the younger one of the two?

-Yeah.

-And who played the older one?

-Robert Hardy.

-Robert Hardy. Before your time, Lisa, I guess?

I'm afraid so, although I was drinking the other day with a guy

who played a vegetarian vet in two episodes.

-It lives on.

-It taught me everything I know about country life.

OK, Said, back to you.

What is the first name of Mrs Brown,

the character played by Brendan O'Carroll,

in the comedy Mrs Brown's Boys?

Is it...

I must admit, it's not a comedy I've watched

but I think her name is Agnes.

Agnes is correct, well done. You've got some points on the board.

OK, back to you, Craig. Who played the third sailor alongside

Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly in the 1949 film On The Town?

Musicals aren't really my bag.

Donald O'Connor, the name rings a bell from being in a musical but

should I go for Donald O'Connor because I know he was a musical

actor or shall I veer away?

I don't really know either of the first two names.

But I will go for Stubby Kaye, please.

Eggheads?

I would have gone for Donald O'Connor.

-All right.

-Stubby Kaye was in Guys And Dolls.

I'm looking for a bit of certainty here.

-It's Jules Munshin.

-I don't think it was...

-Chris knows.

-Oh, well done.

-You're playing a blinder here,

you've got the torpedoes and musicals, got everything covered.

-Absolutely.

-Jules Munshin it is.

Chris is obviously the go-to guy today.

OK, back to you, Said.

Which Carry On regular married the actor John Le Mesurier in 1949?

I know it was the lovely matron, Hattie Jacques.

Hattie Jacques is the right answer, well done.

So, it's two to Said and one to Craig.

And, Craig, if you get this wrong, it's Said's round.

What is the surname of Sheldon in the US sitcom The Big Bang Theory?

I think they're all surnames of characters in The Big Bang Theory.

I'm not an avid watcher,

but I think Sheldon Cooper's played by Jim Parsons.

I'll go for Sheldon Cooper, please.

Yeah, it's right, Sheldon Cooper it is.

So, you're still in it.

But, Said, you have the chance now to take the round.

What is the name of the Hoover-like companion in Teletubbies?

My children were big fans of this show. It's Noo-noo.

JEREMY LAUGHS

-Do you know, it's...

-We've found our level.

-We have found our level!

Was it Dave came unstuck on a Teletubbies question a while back?

Brilliant. I was talking to my daughter on Skype and asked the same

question, she came out with it straightaway.

That's right, we realise that Harry Potter and Teletubbies

are very important in this game.

OK, Noo-noo is right, to put you out of your misery there.

So, Said, well done, you've pulled it back...

-Thank you.

-..majestically there and you've won the second head-to-head.

We have got a contest here, haven't we?

So, you now, Said, can choose an Egghead for the final round.

Obviously can't be Pat.

I'd like to choose Lisa, please.

Lisa, what are we hoping will come up in the final?

Can you give Said any advice?

We're looking at food, fashion and celebrity kids, tend to be my

areas of expertise that none of the other Eggheads can touch.

And history and literature.

Well, you know, they tend to be areas

that these guys can touch as well.

As it stands, Craig has one Egghead to help in the final.

Said also has one.

Great contest and the third and final head-to-head

is on Arts & Books.

So Said, you won the last, so you can choose

whether you go first or second.

I'll go first, please.

Here we go, your first question.

What informal term is often given to the dramatic idea that an object,

which appears on stage, must be used later in the play?

Drama... I would suggest maybe it's...

..to create some sort of drama.

-Chekhov's Gun.

-Let's see whether we know that.

-This is really interesting.

-Yes.

-Yes, he's right.

-That's right. Is there a Chekhov play

where a gun was on the table?

Oh, good question.

I think the point is, if you show the gun early in the play,

it must effectively be used.

Good answer. Chekhov's Gun is right and you can at some point, Said,

produce gold bullion if you want to,

if you want to just swing it your way, this might be the moment.

OK, Craig, over to you, our software developer.

The novels with the English titles Kafka On The Shore

and Hear The Wind Sing

were originally written in which language?

Um... Just guessing a language, really.

I don't recognise the pieces of work

so I couldn't tell you who they're by.

Kafka On The Shore and Hear The Wind...?

Hear The Wind Sing.

Is that H-E-A-R?

-H-E-A-R.

-Hear The Wind Sing...

I will go for Japanese but with no certainty at all.

OK. Well, you've got it right and the author is?

-Is it Murasami?

-Murakami?

Haruki Murakami, is that right?

Yeah, I feel like he's done something else

that was more famous than those two but I can't remember what it was.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood.

Yeah. Japanese is the right answer, well done.

OK, back to you, Said.

Which sculptor lived at Trewyn Studio in St Ives

from 1949 until she died in 1975?

The one I was thinking of has come up, I think it's Barbara Hepworth.

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

I've been round her garden. Barbara Hepworth.

OK, Craig, to catch up in our third head-to-head.

What is the title of Kate Atkinson's 1997 novel,

of which Isobel Fairfax is the central character?

I don't think Human Rugby sounds like...

a particular good choice of title for a novel.

I'm just wondering if...

Would it be Human Croquet?

Human Polo... I will go for Human Croquet, please.

-Said, what do you think?

-I would have gone for Human Polo.

It's actually Human Croquet.

-Oh.

-So, you're level.

You've got two points each.

And your third question, Said.

The poet Dante Alighieri is buried in a tomb in which Italian city?

Well, I think Modena and Padua are more famous in England

for being in Shakespeare plays

so I'm going to go down the middle to Ravenna.

Let's see whether the answer's right.

-Eggheads?

-He died in Ravenna.

Judith says you're right and you are actually right.

Ravenna it is.

You've got three out of three. Pressure on Craig now.

You have to get this right, Craig.

Many of the greatest works of which of these painters

were destroyed in a fire at the Doge's Palace in Venice in 1577?

I can't pick, 1577,

I can't pick any of the painters' lives from that year.

Um...

I will go for Giovanni Bellini, please.

Giovanni Bellini is the correct answer.

Well, you're playing well, both of you, three points each.

Our third head-to-head.

It's level after three questions, so we go to Sudden Death now.

I don't give you alternatives, it gets a bit harder.

Said, "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all"

is a line from which Shakespeare play?

I've heard this one, but I'm just trying to think.

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.

The one that springs to mind is Hamlet.

Hamlet is right.

Sudden Death. You need this to stay in, Craig.

What is the surname of the 19th-century British painter

who lived out his final years in Chelsea

under the assumed name Mr Booth,

the surname of the widow who was his companion?

19th-century English painter?

It's 19th-century, I'm going to go Pre-Raphaelite with the hood.

Just the surname, I'm going to go for Millais.

Millais. I wonder if the Eggheads know this?

-Turner.

-I think that's Turner.

Yes, Turner. Turner was known as Mr Booth.

Not Mr Turner.

And that means you've taken the round, Said.

So well done, you've won the final head-to-head.

As a result, you have an advantage here, Said.

You can choose another Egghead for the final round. Can't be Pat,

can't be Lisa.

I'd love to choose Barry, please.

OK, he's champing at the bit, there!

I know that unless you get in the booth there to help, Barry,

it feels like you haven't done a day's work, does it?

I'm always very eager to help the contestants because I know

-what stress they're going through.

-So we wish you both well.

Craig, you've got Pat in the final round, Said,

you've got both Lisa and Barry.

Why don't we now play the final round?

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time to find out who is one step closer to becoming an Egghead

and who will be eliminated from our search.

Craig and Said, I will ask each of you three questions in turn.

And this time the questions are all General Knowledge.

In this final round you will have the backing of the Eggheads

you've won over the course of the show.

So Craig, you've got Pat there, and Said, you have got Lisa and Barry.

You'll be able to call on your respective Eggheads for advice

before giving an answer to a question,

but you can ask each of them for help only once.

So you need to use them wisely.

-You happy with that?

-Yes.

Good stuff. Now, Said, you won the last round,

so you now get to choose whether you want to go first or second.

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here we go with your first question.

Who succeeded Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister of Australia in 1983?

Um, I've got an idea but I'm going to ask for Barry's help, please.

You're calling an Egghead straight in. Barry?

Right, I'm going to have to think about this.

They were all Australian prime ministers, there.

Robert Menzies was the earliest of the three,

so I'm discounting him straight away.

So I have to think, between Bob Hawke and Gough Whitlam.

1983.

I am really not sure on this one.

I'm leaning towards Gough Whitlam,

because I believe one of the Australian prime ministers

was removed by the High Commissioner in the '80s

and I believe that was Gough Whitlam.

So on that basis I'm going to go for Gough Whitlam

but I'm really not too certain on this.

OK, so Barry's given you some measured advice there,

for Gough Whitlam.

You don't have to accept it, Said, it's up to you.

Well, I was torn between two,

but that's tipped the balance in favour of Gough Whitlam, please.

OK, your answer is Gough Whitlam.

I wonder if Lisa knows?

-Lisa?

-This is worrying me because I probably would have gone for

Gough Whitlam as well. And as we know, my inklings on Australia

tend to be completely wrong.

The only thing I remember is that Mrs Thatcher

was a big buddy of Bob Hawke. So he was '80s.

The answer is Bob Hawke.

-Oh!

-I thought he was later.

Here's the thing. The Gough Whitlam crisis,

when he was removed by the British representative,

was actually in the '70s.

So it was a long, long time before this.

So Bob Hawke is the answer.

OK, Craig, your question.

In the tax year 2016-2017,

how much is the personal allowance for income tax in the UK?

Um, I know that it's increased recently.

I thought it had gone to about...

nine and a half.

Um, sorry, ten and a half.

I thought it had gone up from nine and a half to about ten and a half.

So do I use Pat for confirmation,

or do I go with my instinct even though

it's not the same figure there, it's in the ballpark?

Or has it gone up to 11 from 10?

I'm going to go for £10,250, please.

Right, so you're not calling in your Egghead.

You're answering it. I've just realised that you and Pat

are both software developers,

so you've got potential synergy there.

The answer is £11,000.

So no-one has scored a point yet.

Back to you, Said.

Which of these is closest to the meaning of the word attenuate?

Well, I think...

it's something to do with making something bigger,

so I'll go for that one, please.

Make bigger.

I love language and I wouldn't have got this.

The answer is, make thinner.

As in, sometimes they say a musical note is attenuated.

So no-one has scored a point yet in this final round.

Back to you, Craig.

Who would be most likely to execute a Barani flip in their daily work?

Barani is capital B-A-R-A-N-I.

-A Barani flip.

-Barani flip.

I'm guessing it's named after a person who devised it.

Um, it's too obvious to be a gymnast.

Possibly a chef.

Again, I'm tempted with commodities trader.

But with the situation of the game, do I gamble?

My last hunch didn't quite work out!

Um, do I gamble on commodities trader?

Would you flip, would you buy something

and then sell something quickly, would that be a flip?

Do I ask Pat? Do I save Pat?

Oh! Um, I'm going to leave Pat for the third question again.

And guess that it's something to do with buying and selling

very quickly, and go for commodities trader.

OK, I buy your logic completely.

I've taken your answer, let's just see with Pat.

-What would you have said, Pat?

-I think it's a gymnastic move.

I think Barani was a gymnast.

Ohhh!

I should have thought that Pat would know that. He knows most things.

But Barani flip is indeed a gymnastics move.

So gymnast is the answer.

What an unusual final round we've got here.

Said, which African country's coat of arms

features a baobab tree and a lion?

And baobab is B-A-O-B-A-B.

Yes, I've actually seen a baobab tree.

So I kind of...

would associate it with Africa or Asia.

But that doesn't really narrow it down.

I don't think it's Cameroon.

Um...

Then it could be. I'm going to ask Lisa for your help, please.

OK, Lisa.

I can't come up with a reason for this,

but something is telling me it's Ethiopia.

And I am struggling to work out what is telling me that.

But there is a relatively strong link to it in my head.

-All right.

-That's about the best I can do for you, Said, I'm sorry.

-All right, so she's guiding you there.

-Thank you, Lisa.

Well, I was thinking of a lion of Ethiopia,

maybe to do with Haile Selassie, something like that,

-so I'll go for Ethiopia.

-OK.

Barry, do you know? I'm thinking if you do know,

you've had a complete poker face there.

I think it isn't Ethiopia.

I would be tempted to go for Cameroon.

It's not Cameroon, it's not Ethiopia, it's Senegal.

We've got five red crosses.

But you've got a rather nice position here, Craig, in a way.

Because you've got your Egghead still.

-I might not ask him! I might just...

-Yeah, yeah, exactly!

Why don't you just guess this one as well!

And if you get this right, you've won.

Bytown is the former name of which Canadian city?

That's B-Y-T-O-W-N.

Um, I actually read this the other day!

Um, I think,

I think it's Ottawa, but just for the hell of it

I'll see if Mr Gibson thinks it's Ottawa as well.

Oh, you've planted the thought now. You should have not said.

OK, extract from your mind what Craig has said, Pat,

and tell us what you think.

Craig is dead to me. I have forgotten everything he said.

THEY LAUGH

I always have to check.

I think Toronto was Yorktown and I think Ottawa was Bytown.

I don't think it applies to Montreal or Quebec

so I think it's Ottawa as well.

-Can I have Ottawa, please?

-You've given Ottawa.

If you've got this right, you are the winner.

The right answer is Ottawa.

So you've pulled ahead there.

Congratulations, Craig, you have won!

Well, I can only... What can I say, Said?

You had the two Eggheads there, don't want to blame you guys,

leading Said astray, Gough Whitlam.

I thought Gough Whitlam was meat and drink to you, Barry, as a quizzer.

Yes, I really should have known that.

-I'm so sorry for leading you astray.

-Not to worry.

Thanks for playing, Said.

-Thank you.

-Well, what a great contest there, both of you.

Really, that was some great quizzing in there.

You've proved, Craig, that winning comes as naturally to you

as it does to our Eggheads!

You are one step closer to joining our quiz Goliaths,

but your work for today is not quite done.

We give you three points for each round you've won today,

so you've got three points on the board already,

and you're now going to get the chance to add to those points

by answering quickfire questions for two minutes.

We will give you one point for each correct answer and we then see where

your final score puts you on our Eggheads leaderboard.

The top four places at the end of the heats

will make it through to the semifinals.

So we'll have a quick look at the leaderboard as it currently stands.

We've got three names on there, as you can see.

So you will at the end of today be not just on the leaderboard

but in the top four!

And we'll see how far up there you can get.

All to play for, are you ready?

I am indeed.

Good luck, your time starts now.

Until 2005, Alesha Dixon was a member of which girl band?

-Mis-Teeq.

-Correct.

In the 1960s TV series The Avengers, Patrick Macnee played John...

-Steed.

-Correct.

According to the saying, what is thicker than water?

Blood.

In 2004, which football club did Wayne Rooney leave to join...

-Everton.

-..Manchester United? Everton, correct.

Established in 1926,

Route 66 ran eastwards from Los Angeles, terminating in which city?

-Chicago.

-Correct.

What is the traditional name of the pantomime

that features the character Widow Twankey?

-Aladdin?

-Correct.

Which hero from Greek mythology

saved the Argonauts from the Sirens by playing beautiful music?

-Hera?

-No, Orpheus.

The Vatican City is an enclave within which city?

-Rome.

-Correct.

Which term for a successful womaniser comes from a character

in Nicholas Rowe's 18th-century play The Fair Penitent?

-Pass.

-Lothario.

What was the first feature film to be directed by Quentin Tarantino

to be given a full theatrical release?

-Reservoir Dogs?

-Correct.

The composer Tchaikovsky, famous for his Nutcracker Suite,

was born in which century?

-19th.

-Correct.

In the periodic table, which element has the chemical symbol Au?

-Gold.

-Correct.

Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code begins with

a murder in which famous museum?

-The Louvre.

-Correct. Which musical features the song Feed The Birds?

Mary Poppins.

Correct. In which country are the GABA and the Waca...

-Australia.

-Historic cricket grounds, correct.

In which US state is Yale University based?

-New York?

-No, Connecticut.

In which decade of the 20th century

did Clement Attlee become the UK Prime Minister?

-1940s.

-Correct.

What nationality is the fictional detective Hercule Poirot?

-Belgian.

-Correct.

In both 1980 and 1984,

in which event did Sebastian Coe win Olympic gold medals?

-1,500 metres?

-Correct.

Which island, the largest in Wales, is separated from Wales...

-Anglesey?

-..Menai Straight. Correct.

Anglesey. Which Oscar-winning 1962 film has no credited...

-Lawrence of Arabia?

-..speaking roles for women?

Correct. Which Scottish monarch was killed at the Battle of...

I can't finish that question.

But my goodness, you were storming along there.

You've scored 18 points, that's very good.

We add in the three points you got from your round,

giving you a grand total of 21 points.

Let's see where that puts you now.

You're ahead of Rupy and Gareth, you're in second place, Craig,

just behind Ian Bayley, who's got 27.

Craig, well done.

Thank you, Jeremy.

Looking at the leaderboard, I think 20 was my benchmark, so I'm pleased.

So whoever's in the green, when we've seen all the competitors,

in all the heats, the four names in the green area

will be in the semifinal. That's how it works. Thanks, Craig.

-Thanks, Said, as well, hope you enjoyed it.

-Thank you.

Join us next time, to find out

who else might have what it takes to become an Egghead.

Ah! Until then, goodbye.